Copyright by Mary Harding Polk 2016 The Dissertation Committee for Mary Harding Polk Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “They Are Drying Out”: Social-Ecological Consequences of Glacier Recession on Mountain Peatlands in Huascarán National Park, Peru Committee: Kenneth R. Young, Supervisor Kelley A. Crews Gregory W. Knapp Daene C. McKinney Francisco L. Pérez “They Are Drying Out”: Social-Ecological Consequences of Glacier Recession on Mountain Peatlands in Huascarán National Park, Peru by Mary Harding Polk, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2016 Acknowledgements The journey to the Cordillera Blanca and Huascarán National Park started with a whiff of tear gas during the Arequipazo of 2002. During a field season in Arequipa, the city erupted into civil unrest. In a stroke of neoliberalism, newly elected President Alejandro Toledo privatized Egesur and Egasa, regional power generation companies, by selling them to a Belgian entity. Arequipeños violently protested President Toledo’s reversal on his campaign pledge not to privatize industries. Overnight, the streets filled with angry protesters demonstrating against “los Yanquis.” The President declared a state of emergency that kept Agnes Wommack and me trapped in our hotel because the streets were unsafe for a couple of Yanquis. After 10 days of being confined, we decided to venture out to the local bakery. Not long after our first sips of coffee, tear gas floated onto the patio and the lovely owner rushed out with wet towels to cover our faces. With that, I knew the field season was over. As soon as the airport reopened, Agnes returned to the U.S. Meanwhile, my advisor Kenneth R. Young suggested that I go to Huaraz to help a fellow graduate student, Jennifer Lipton, with her field work. I finally made my way back to Lima and then to Huaraz. The crisp mountain air and tranquility in Huaraz were a relief. Over the next week, I tagged along with Jennifer, collecting GPS points. I fell in love with the dramatic, ice-covered jagged peaks of the Cordillera Blanca and knew that I would someday return. What I could not have known at the time is that it would take 7 years and a venture into commercial real estate before I would return. iv It has been said before and is worth repeating here: a dissertation appears as a sole-authored product, but the truth is that a huge cast of characters makes it possible. First and foremost, I thank my advisor, Kenneth R. Young, for offering me the incredible opportunity to be his Graduate Research Assistant on a 3-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Coupled Natural Human Systems program (CNH: Collaborative Research: Hydrologic Transformation and Human Resilience to Climate Change in the Peruvian Andes” Award Number 1010550 with Co-PIs Jeff Bury, Bryan G. Mark, and Mark Carey). After several years of being out of touch, Ken and I met for coffee on a September afternoon, only days after he received news that the team had been awarded the prestigious CNH grant. He offered me the position and I was ready to start immediately. The serendipity of that meeting changed the course of my life. Ken has the knack for balancing gentle guidance with the ability to tighten the screws at the right moment. Along the way he gave me enough clues to be able to piece together the resulting research design, data collection, analysis, and conclusion that you’ll read here. His fingerprints are scattered throughout and I’m honored to have collaborated so closely with him. While in Peru, Ken and Blanca León were like family, including me in breakfasts, lunches, dinners and making sure I was comfortable a long way from home. We spent many hours together on our hands and knees counting tiny plants in Huascarán National Park and these were some of the most joyful times of the project. Our celebratory dinners at Encuentro were always memorable. Another key partner in the project is Asunción Cano Echevarria, who patiently taught me the plant species over two seasons. Always cheerful under any conditions, v Asunción is an outstanding person to work with in the field. I am especially grateful for his interest, dedication, and contributions to my project. Chapter 5 wouldn’t have been possible without his help. I am also grateful to Maria Isabel de la Torre for her friendship and for refining the grass identifications. My dissertation committee has been unwaveringly supportive along the entire process in many ways. Kelley A. Crews has inspired me towards excellence and motivated me to reach further than I thought was possible – this has been true since we met in 2001. Gregory W. Knapp gamely tolerated my systems framework. His critical eye towards systems helped me think carefully about the limitations of such frameworks. Francisco L. Pérez’s meticulousness, elegance, attention to detail, and enthusiasm for mountains are a source of constant inspiration. His reminders to enjoy life and prioritize my values arrived at the perfect time. Daene C. McKinney made one comment during my dissertation proposal presentation that sent me on the quest to find a regression model that could predict changes in wetland area. He also made numerous helpful introductions in Huaraz and invited me to participate meaningfully in a multinational conference and global south-to-south technological exchange regarding hazards in high mountains. Although he wasn’t formally on my committee, Eugenio Arima opened my eyes in important new ways. It was through his courses that I gained the insight to connect land change science and econometrics. In Huaraz, I owe a special thanks to Ing. Jesús Gómez López, the director of Huascarán National Park, for granting permission to conduct research in the park (SERNANP Permit TUPA No PNH-008-2012), for supporting the many scientists who vi work there, and for his unflagging dedication to park sustainability. At The Mountain Institute, Jorge Recharte, Beatriz Fuentealba, and Laura Trejo have been partners in the project and I thank them for their dedication to protecting landscapes and cultures in the Cordillera Blanca. Zarela Zamora offered a home away from home over four field seasons. I can personally attest to her legendary hospitality and resourcefulness and am lucky to count her as a friend. Zarela introduced me to Gladys Jimenez, who was instrumental in the interviews with local people. Gladys instantly understood the project and took a personal interest in it. Her knowledge of local customs and culture fine-tuned the interviews to capture the richness and texture expressed in both Spanish and Quechua. I am also grateful to Bruno Revirón, our tireless guide, outfitter, and restauranteur, who put me together with Abraham Aldave. Abraham kept me well-nourished at high altitudes and scared off the pumas by lighting matches in the dark of night. The support I received from fellow graduate students at UT was phenomenal. I am especially grateful for help from Bisola Falola, Paul Holloway, Naya Jones, Lindsey Carte, Kalli Doubleday, Kaiti Tasker, Aaron Groth, Anwar Sounny-Slitine, and Xuebin Yang. From the Digital Landscape Lab and the Spatial Science Lab, I thank Mario Cardozo, Niti B. Mishra, Thoralf Meyer, and Thomas Christensen. Special thanks to Julio Postigo and students in his graduate seminar at Pontifica Universidad Católica del Peru who helped me focus and refine the PPD model in the weeks leading up to my dissertation defense. Julio also deserves special credit for pointedly asking me only two weeks after starting the graduate program if I was going to use social-ecological system theory. Laura Read has been a sounding board, comic relief, and responsible for vii introducing me to all the bakeries in Huaraz that sell borrachitos (rum cake bites) that I still crave and can’t find in the U.S. Financial support was provided by numerous institutions internal and external to the University of Texas at Austin. Without these awards, the work would not have been possible. In total, I was awarded approximately $54,000 from the following sources: University of Texas at Austin Graduate School Continuing Fellowship ($29,947 including tuition and fees); DigitalGlobe Foundation Imagery Grant (~$4100); National Science Foundation, Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (PI K.R. Young, Grant No. BCS-1333141, Title: Glacier Recession and Implications for High-Elevation Peatlands, $15,881); American Association of University Women, Austin Branch Dissertation Fellowship ($2500); Association of American Geographers, Mountain Geography Specialty Group, Chimborazo Student Research Grant ($500); University of Texas at Austin, Department of Geography and the Environment, Robert E. Veselka Graduate Research Travel Fellowship ($650). The Transdisciplinary Andean Research Network (TARN) provided an instant network of professors and graduate students in the Cordillera Blanca. It was a distinct pleasure to be associated with Bryan Mark, Michel Baraer, Jeff McKenzie, Mark Carey, Adam French, and Jeff Bury. Having access to the depth of knowledge that these scholars possess was unparalleled. Being with them in the field was always a crash course in glacier dynamics, glacier hydrogeology, and the social and political context. I am especially appreciative of Bryan Mark and Michel Baraer, who generously shared the historic discharge dataset that is the primary input in the model I developed in Chapter 4. viii Other researchers that I collaborated with are John Hribljan and Rod Chimner from Michigan Technological University. Seeing the peat cores emerge for the first time was breathtaking and I anxiously await John’s analysis. Finally, I thank my parents, Mary and Jamie Polk, and my sister and brother-in- law, Annie Polk and Chris Oatey, for their unmitigated encouragement, curiosity, and enthusiasm.